Till Death Do Us Part
by Summer Reign
Summary: Challenge Fic: Fixing GSR in a credible fashion.


Title: Till Death Do Us Part

Author: Summer Reign

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to CSI/CBS. I'm borrowing for entertainment purposes. No infringement intended.

This is in response to CSI Forever Online's challenge-fic to "Fix GSR."

(A/N: How could I NOT do this? Money where your mouth is and all that…)

The rules are as follows:

The story:  
\- Needs GSR to be restored in a credible fashion

\- Needs to be strictly canon (what's aired since Forget Me Not

\- Cannot be AU (dream sequences, time displacement, etc.)  
\- Should include regular elements of a crime mystery that is solved in this piece  
-Think of it as a CSI episode

Characters  
\- Grissom cannot physically appear in this story or exchange dialogue with anyone. He may appear in letter form (email, text, handwritten letter.) We have to assume Billy Petersen is not coming back.

-Grissom may appear in past (3rd person) conversations and interactions ONLY.  
\- Any regular character may be used (except Warrick or any character that has died.)  
\- New characters may be used

Style  
\- It may be written as a normal story-  
\- It may be written as a television screenplay (teleplay) if you really want a challenge!(NOTE: If written as a teleplay, Sara may have a 1-sided phone conversation with Grissom but his responses won't be heard.)

Length: - The story may not exceed 40 pages (the standard length of an average CSI script) 

And now, on with the show…

Till Death Do Us Part

**TEASER**

FADE IN:

EXTERIOR. LAS VEGAS STRIP. NIGHT

We take the usual panoramic tour of the Las Vegas strip. It's nighttime but no sleepyheads found here. Just lights and excitement as we…

CUT TO:

.NIGHT

And we get closer to the action. Young people in small groups having a night out: there is boozing by the bar, laughter in the air, the sound of jackpots, major and minor, being won off-shot. Noise, action, life.

SLOW DISSOLVE TO:

/DINING ROOM. NIGHT

Silence.

We are in a clearly dated room. Furniture is old, worn and faded. You can almost smell the mothballs in the air. A stark contrast to what we have just witnessed. The camera pans around a perfectly tidy room. As we pan to the small dining room table at the far end of the room, however, one of four chairs has been knocked sideways to the ground. A broken plate, blood on its jagged edge, is on the floor. A partially eaten sandwich lies a few inches away. A few feet from there, we see a woman, FIONA JASPER (MID-TO LATE 60s), lying still on the floor. Her cheek has a bloody gash across it and her eyes are open, but sightless. Her complexion is off…a little on the blue-ish side and her mouth is slightly open, as well.

FEMALE VOICE #1 (Answering phone, Off-camera)  
9-1-1. What's your emergency?

PAN TO the first signs of life in the room. RUTH JASPER (attractive woman in her mid- to late- 60s) is on the phone that sits on the pass-through between the kitchen and dining area. She is obviously upset and visibly shaking.

RUTH  
Yes. Hello? I'd…I'd like to report a death. My sister-in-law. No. She's not breathing. I….I actually don't think she's alive at all. I'm pretty sure…she's dead. Please…hurry. My brother is…not well.

We slowly pan away from Ruth and back to the table, where a man, JOSEPH JASPER (EARLY 70S), is seated, eyes watching nothing in particular, slowly chewing on the sandwich before him.

CUT TO:

Sara, D.B. Russell and Greg enter the room. Joseph and his sister, RUTH, are no longer there.

David has just finished taking Fiona's liver temperature.

RUSSELL  
Talk to me, David.

DAVID  
Fiona Jasper. Rigor has just started. She's been dead about two hours. Liver temp is consistent with that estimate.

RUSSELL  
Her sister-in-law just called it in about an hour ago, right?

DAVID**  
**Yes. But, she lives downstairs. She just heard a noise and then no movement at all. She came up to see what was going on. Her brother, this woman's husband, has advanced Alzheimer's and mobility issues. So, she was worried about him falling.

RUSSELL  
The call said suspicious circs. (He looks around). A few things out of place. Broken plate, scratch on Mrs. Jasper's cheek and…that's it?

DAVID  
She didn't choke on a chicken bone. (Picking up the bag on the top of his kit). _This_ was lodged in her throat.

SARA comes over and they both look at what David is holding up in the clear evidence bag: a wedding band.

RUSSELL  
Kind of gives a whole new meaning to 'till death do us part."

SMASH TO:

MAIN TITLES

END OF TEASER

**ACT ONE**

FADE IN

AND GRISSOM'S

FLASHBACK, INDICATED BY GRAPHIC: "JULY, 2012"

CLOSE UP of a computer screen in the middle of an instant messaging session. It's a long session, most of which we scroll by quickly. Random words should flash by…Mother, moving, Vegas…

And then we stop and scroll slowly, so the last parts of the "live" conversation can be seen in their entirety. During Sara's part, we should hear the sounds of typing.

Sara: Gil? Are you still there? Did we lose our connection?

Beat.

Gil: I'm still here. Just…processing.

Sara: What's there to process? I mean, it's no big deal. It's not like I'm moving my mother into the house with me. With us. Just another facility closer to home.

Gil: Home. I was under the assumption that we didn't define the location of 'home.'

We can hear Sara sigh.

Sara: Home, for me. For now.

Gil: Is that my cue to join you?

Sara: No. Not at all. I mean, you have work to do and when you're done, if you want, you can join me.

A beat. Two.

Sara: Gil?

Gil: Why are you doing this?

Sara: Doing what?

Gil: You and your mother have been fine just the way you were. For decades…

Sara: Well, maybe I want more.

Gil: You know the limits of your relationship.

Sara: Sometimes you have to move beyond limits.

Beat. Another.

Sara: Gil?

Gil: It's a done deal, isn't it?

Sara: Yes.

Gil: That's what I thought. I hope you are being honest with yourself. (beat) I've got to go. Talk to you soon. (beat) Love you.

Sara: Love you, too…

SARA (Off-screen and out loud)  
Crap.

DISSOLVE TO:

INTERROGATION

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD is sitting across from Ruth Jasper. She is a Nervous Nelly, quietly shredding a tissue with her fingers.

Greg and Sara are sitting on the same side as Detective Crawford. Greg has the bagged wedding band, which is not visible to Ruth Jasper at the beginning of the interrogation.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
I know this is stressful for you, but just tell us what happened, in your own words.

RUTH (distracted)  
My brother…I should be with my brother.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
We'll take you back to him but I can assure you, he is under the best of care right now.

RUTH  
He shouldn't be alone. He's very…fragile…nowadays.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
We understand that. But, we need to find out what happened to Mrs. Jasper.

RUTH (shakes head)  
I…don't know. I was watching tv. Heard some noise upstairs. I don't know. Something falling. Didn't sound like a big deal. Then, I heard a thump. Again...not that big a deal but after a while, I realized I didn't hear anything else. I can hear them moving across the room, normally, most of the time. The…floorboards and things…they are all old in the house. It's not that I'm listening or even noticing but…this seemed odd. So, I went upstairs and found her…on the floor…like that.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
Did you touch her?

RUTH  
No! I couldn't. I mean, she looked kind of blue in the face already. I don't know (awareness setting in) I just…maybe I should have…could I have saved her?

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
Probably not. Where was your brother during all of this?

RUTH  
He…um…you know he has dementia, don't you? Well, he's not always 'with us.' And…he didn't really know what was going on. He was just…eating dinner.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
He didn't seem aware of his wife on the floor?

RUTH  
No. No. He was just quietly eating his dinner when I came up and continued until the police took him away. So, how did she die? Heart attack?

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
An autopsy will determine that but I think it's safe to say she probably choked. We found something in her throat.

RUTH (shaking her head again)  
She was always a fast eater. I told her to slow down. She wasn't catching a bus or anything.

GREG  
(pulls out the bagged ring)  
Ma'am. She didn't choke on food. Do you recognize this?

Ruth pulls out her glasses from her purse and stares at the bag.

RUTH  
It's her wedding band. Why isn't it on her finger?

GREG  
It was lodged in her throat. Do you have any idea…

RUTH  
Why would she swallow the ring? She never even took it off, as far as I know. What? This makes no sense…

Tissue is now in tatters and Ruth looks near-tears.

DETECTIVE CRAWFORD  
(Standing up)  
We'll try and find out what happened, Ms. Jasper. In the meantime, I'll have one of my men drive you over to the hospital to join your brother.

She leaves in a hurry. Greg and Sara exchange a resigned look. The only person who knew the truth was probably not going to give them much information.

DISSOLVE TO:

INTERIOR. AUTOPSY BAY. NIGHT

Doc Robbins has just finished sewing up Fiona Jasper's body. Sara and Russell walk in, doors swinging.

RUSSELL  
You rang?

DOC ROBBINS  
Hmmm…funny. I never noticed the resemblance between you and Lurch before.

RUSSELL  
I set myself up for that one, didn't I?

Sara and Doc Robbins smile.

RUSSELL  
So, is this just a bizarre household accident?

DOC ROBBINS  
I don't think so. There isn't much to go on, but there are a few oddities that indicate…something else. Here, take a look.

He holds parts of her autopsied throat in his gloved hands.

DOC ROBBINS  
Here…if she had just swallowed the ring, chances are it would have been lodged somewhere in the pharynx or lower (Points to pharynx). And, it probably was…initially…but, this whole area (points from pharynx on up) is irritated beyond any abrasions a smooth wedding band would have caused.

SARA  
So, you're saying that she choked on something else?

DOC ROBBINS  
No. I think the wedding band was the culprit but…it almost seems as if it had been dislodged and then pushed back down her throat.

He lifts the sheet to reveal bruising on her lower stomach.

DOC ROBBINS  
(continued)  
I think she gave herself the Heimlich maneuver, by pressing herself over the back of a chair. And, it looks as if it may have been successful.

Superimpose an image of the victim doing just this-sharply draping herself over the hard back of the dining room chair and, after several attempts, dislodging the ring.

SARA  
Then how…?

DOC ROBBINS  
That is the question. But, here's something else for you to gnaw on. This appeared just a while ago.

He moves Fiona's hair away from her neck. There is bruising, consistent with finger marks, around her throat.

SARA  
Oh.

DOC ROBBINS  
(nodding)  
The plot thickens.

END OF ACT ONE

ACT TWO

FADE IN

.LATER THAT EVENING

Sara is quietly eating a sandwich when Greg bounds in the room

GREG  
Printed the ring.

SARA  
And…

GREG  
Nada.

SARA  
Nothing?

GREG  
Nope.

Sara puts down her sandwich.

SARA  
That makes no sense.

GREG  
Well, she wasn't wearing gloves, so if she took off the ring herself, there would be something. Someone else must have taken it off and then wiped it clear.

SARA  
You know, it's strange. Hodges was telling me this story of a man who choked on the cross he was wearing because he always fiddled with it by putting it in his mouth, when he was nervous. I looked at her ring finger. It was pretty obvious that she hadn't removed that ring in a really long time. So, the whole notion of her taking it off and playing with it, somehow—by putting it in her mouth…doesn't really hold much water.

GREG  
Nope, but that's what you get for listening to Hodges' theory. (beat) You never took off your ring until your divorce. What did you do with it…after?

Sara looks at him for a minute. Greg has a mixture of sheepishness and determination on his face. He wants to know and they've all given her enough time and space.

SARA  
We're not.

GREG  
Not what? Doing this? Bringing up Grissom? The divorce? I mean, I'm your friend. Or I thought I was.

SARA  
You are. I meant, Grissom and I… we aren't divorced.

GREG  
(genuinely shocked)  
But…you said he wasn't your husband. You took off your ring.

SARA  
I…was kind of angry. So was he, for that matter. Well, as angry as he gets. (beat)

GREG  
Over….?

SARA  
I … um… well, I guess you could say we had mother-in-law issues.

GREG  
Your mother-in-law was kind of controlling but she seemed nice, when you got to know her…

SARA  
Not my mother-in-law_. Grissom's_ mother-in-law. (beat) You know some of my background, thanks to the Basderic case.

GREG  
Yes. I'm sorry about … everything.

SARA  
It was a long time ago. But, with my mom being the way she was…and is…I've always worried that…it was genetic.

GREG  
And you wanted to have kids…

SARA  
No! Stop prompting me. I've never really talked about this before.

Greg mimes "locking the vault and tossing away the key."

SARA  
You know, the whole thing about Langston and the murder gene? Well, that got me thinking about my situation again. I really admired him. Admired his accomplishments, the way he handled himself on the job. But…it seemed as if maybe…genetics won out. We have no proof, of course, and the circumstances were horrendous, but…well, I couldn't stop thinking about it. According to Grissom, a little too much. And, he…might have been right. I don't know. Anyway, that caused some tension between us. But, what really got to him is when I moved my mother to Vegas.

CLOSE UP of Greg, looking like he's about to burst from keeping his mouth shut.

SARA  
(Continuing…confession time)  
I didn't do it because she was unhappy in the facility in San Francisco or because I wanted to see her more or anything else. I moved her here for genetic testing and psychotherapy that _I_ wanted conducted on her. I wanted answers. I wanted assurances. And, I didn't want to fly back and forth to San Francisco to do it, or argue with administrators or any of that.

I never even said this to Grissom but…he knew. Not specifics but he knew my motives were my own. And, eventually, when I stopped finding the time to visit him…he told me I had to choose. To continue what he considered this self-destructive path or live my life…with him. I guess…he was taking a hard line because he never thought I'd choose option #2.

GREG  
That still doesn't explain the divorce thing. I mean, why you didn't get one?

SARA  
I don't know how to explain it. We just…never filed. Neither of us. We've never even discussed it. We talk, from time to time. Mostly we text or "speak" through instant messaging sessions. We seem to be better off that way. But, that's not a real marriage either, is it?

GREG  
I guess not. So…what did you find out about your genes?

SARA  
I was worried. Especially after I shot that deputy last year. But…there's nothing. My mom is ill. Apparently, I'm not. Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't have scars from the past but…

GREG  
Who doesn't, right?

She smiles wanly and agrees.

SARA  
(enough of this)  
Come on. Let's go back and print the place. See if anyone else was in the room beside the Jaspers.

CUT TO:

Sara is sitting on the floor, looking at the fingerprint powder all over the room and the stack of print tapes next to her.

Russell walks in.

RUSSELL  
Anything?

SARA  
I don't think so. By a visual comparison…it's the same three people: Joseph, Fiona and Ruth.

Russell sits on the ottoman.

RUSSELL  
I found a strange bit of information. About six months ago, Fiona went to the emergency room. Her leg was badly bruised and she had a hairline fracture on the fibula. Report said she fell.

SARA  
She could have.

RUSSELL  
I don't think so. Doc went back in. She has had a few injuries to her legs and arms…recent ones.

SARA  
Clumsy?

RUSSELL  
You believe that?

SARA  
No.

RUSSELL  
Mr. Jasper hasn't been seen by a doctor much in the past two years. Only when his meds were about to run out.

SARA  
You think they are trying to cover something up?

RUSSELL  
I think…some dementia patients, in the final stages of their disease, have been known to act out of character. Even get violent. I think…that may be a possibility in this case. So, it's potentially not so much an intentional cover-up but a misguided protection of a loved one.

SARA  
(not convincingly)  
I suppose it's possible.

DISSOLVE TO:

.DAY

Greg is talking to the nurse on duty in the LVPD-approved hospital ward Joseph Jasper is staying in.

NURSE  
The doctor can tell you more about the battery of tests they've been running, and I can only give you my opinion, but…he's the real deal. No faking and, in my opinion… (she's careful to be politically correct, at all times), his disease is really advanced. I'm not sure he really knows who anyone is most of the time.

GREG  
Have you seen any violent behavior from him?

NURSE  
(shaking head)  
Not really. Frustrated behavior. Yes. He has a thing about meal-time. Wants his plate lined up a certain way and, if it isn't, or if he doesn't like what he thinks is on there, he sort of tries to fling it off the table with his hand. I've had to run back to the kitchen a few times to get him something else because his food ends up on the floor or wall. Of course, I've only known him for a couple of days…

GREG  
Does he know his wife is dead?

NURSE  
(shakes head)  
I'm not even sure he knows what marriage is. I'm really kind of surprised they didn't put him in a nursing home by now. The amount and type of care-giving a non-professional has to do is staggering and emotionally…it's…tough…living with a person who is almost a shell of the person you knew before.

Greg looks thoughtful as we…

FADE OUT

END OF ACT TWO

ACT THREE

DISSOLVE TO:

AND SARA'S

Sara, in a robe, crosses the room with a cup of coffee and clicks on her computer. We see the screen open to her email provider and she clicks on a message from "Bug Man G" marked "And furthermore…"

We hear Sara's voice read the contents of the letter, even though she's reading it to herself.

When she gets to the part about killing the deputy superimpose a slow-motion flashback of her shooting the deputy in the Girls Gone Wild episode, over the written words she's reading from the email.

SARA  
(Reading)

Sara…

I couldn't find the words during our conversation last evening. It's difficult to know how to respond to "you dodged a bullet when you dumped me." Especially given the circumstances.

Please know that I do not, have not, or ever will consider you a "killer" or a walking time bomb or any of the other categories I think you like to believe are hidden somewhere inside you. Perhaps you acted impulsively with that deputy, out in the desert, but he pulled his gun with the intention to kill and you acted in self-defense. End of story.

As for "dumping you?" You know that's not what happened. Your coming back to the lab was supposed to be a temporary diversion. However, all the old demons you tried so hard to exorcise before seemed to come back and take over your life. Take over our life together.

I wanted to shock you out of it. 

It didn't exactly work out as planned.

You once told me not making a decision was a decision. I've left the decision of a further change in our marital status to you. And, as far as I know….we are still married and that still gives me hope that, one day, we will be on the same page in our relationship, once again.

I would love to come home and be with you, to reassure you…to continue our lives together. But, this time, it's your call. I respect you far too much to take you away from what you feel you need to do.

I will say this, however…

You are a good person, Sara. Stop trying to find evidence to the contrary.

CUT TO:

'S OFFICE. NIGHT

Russell, Sara and Greg are meeting to talk about the meager evidence they have.

RUSSELL  
Okay. What do we know? Man, with mixed dementia…probably Alzheimer's, and something else, who shows some signs of aggression at mealtime, is in the room, alone—with his wife, who is dead on the floor. She has had some suspicious injuries on the legs and arms over the last few months. He uses a cane and…some of those injuries are consistent with those made by a cane. It seems pretty obvious he did it.

GREG  
But, the wedding band down the throat thing…that's too personal, isn't it? For a guy who probably doesn't remember he's married. Why would he pull a ring from a woman's finger and suddenly choke her with it? And not once, but twice?

RUSSELL  
Doesn't make any sense.

SARA  
Maybe…the sister came upstairs earlier than she said.

RUSSELL  
I don't know. She seemed genuine enough. And…unless she says something, or Mr. Jasper suddenly has a moment of lucidity, this case is kind of dead in the water.

SARA  
Ruth is very protective of her brother. What if…she knows something…and is trying to cover it up? Could explain the lack of fingerprints on the ring. _That_ is something Joseph Jasper wouldn't do. She may have come up and seen him do it, and …well, it was too late for Fiona but not too late to save her brother? Maybe she thinks he'd actually be arrested and jailed?

RUSSELL  
We need to go back. Look at everything all over again. Get a search warrant for her part of the house. There has to be…something we're missing.

DISSOLVE TO:

One police officer is by the door, while Greg and Sara are rummaging around Ruth Jasper's basement apartment. It's sparsely furnished and about as cheerful as the apartment upstairs.

Camera angle should be on Sara and Greg, as they look through Ruth's mail.

WOMAN'S VOICE  
(Off-screen)  
Yoohooo!

POLICE OFFICER  
(also off-screen)  
Ma'am you can't go in there.

WOMAN'S VOICE  
Yes I can. I have to do my civic duty.

A look passes between the two investigators. A smirk, actually.

Camera is back on the police officer and a forty-something year old woman, Doris DiLorenzo.

OFFICER  
There is an active investigation going on in there, ma'am.

DORIS  
I know. I know. I want to talk.

RUSSELL  
(Coming from outside, but both of them are blocking the door. Addresses Doris)  
Can I help you ma'am?

DORIS  
Finally! Yes. You can. I want to talk about what I know. I wanted to do it on the day of the…well, Mrs. Jasper's (lowers voice) "passing," but my husband, Jerry….Jerry says…never you mind, Doris. Mind your own business. No good deed goes unpunished and all that jazz. But, he's at work now so…what he don't know, won't kill him. Ooh…sorry (she says, looking around). Bad choice of words!

RUSSELL  
(TRAVELING SHOT as he takes her by the elbow and leads her to the front of the house, where they stand by the sunny front porch)  
It's fine. What, exactly, do you know?

DORIS  
Okay. Well, we moved next door about five years ago. Neighbors were an elderly…sort of, couple…the Jaspers. We were kind of happy there would be no loud parties and such. And, there wasn't. They took walks every night. Maybe played the radio a bit during the day. Fiona…she loved fresh air. Well, as fresh as we get over here with this freakin' heat. But, she always cracked the window when the sun went down. And, that didn't change, even when Joseph got sick.

RUSSELL  
How did you know he got sick? She told you?

DORIS  
Yeah. She was pretty open about it. Said he had the Alzheimer's. And probably something else. I didn't quite understand what she was saying. You know, she said they can't even know for sure about the Alzheimer's until he's dead and they cut him up? Sheesh. Anyway, I'd know something was up anyway. They stopped going for walks. He…started getting kind of loud. From inside the house, I mean. And, you'd hear things breaking and stuff…a lot of swearing, which I never heard him do before. Plus, there'd be a lot of nights I'd look out the window and Fiona would stand just outside the door…and she'd be crying and stuff. But, still, she was always on the lookout for her husband, if he needed her. So sad…

RUSSELL  
Did you know Mr. Jasper's sister?

DORIS  
Ruth? I met her a couple times. She's…okay. Really protective of her brother. Now, _she_ didn't say anything about the Alzheimer's. Just said he was forgetful. (sarcastically) I don't think so. Anyway, when she moved in to help them, I saw less and less of Fiona. Outside the house, I mean. Just would hear her crying sometimes and then Ruth would come and tell her that it wasn't his fault and she had to stand by him and all that. How he would be so proud of her, if he realized what she was doing for him.

RUSSELL  
And the night of the…Mrs. Jasper's death?

DORIS  
How did she die?

RUSSELL  
We can't discuss that, at this point. Sorry.

DORIS  
Well, I can tell you it was noisy that night. First, I heard something breaking. A glass or something. And then I heard Fiona kind of wailing a bit. Very unlike her but … my guess is that she cut herself and it hurt. Ruth said something…couldn't tell what and Fiona, loud as I've ever heard…said "that's it. I can't take no more. He's going to the home." And a bunch of other things I couldn't make out and then more noise and then…nothing. And that's why I wanted to talk to you the other day because…it was all weird and you need to know this stuff but…well, Jerry…

RUSSELL  
You were right to come to us. Is that all you remember?

DORIS  
Those are the highlights.

RUSSELL  
Would you be willing to give a statement? I can get a detective out here to get it all down.

DORIS  
Sure…well, as long as you can do it while Jerry is at work. I'd rather not get into it when he finds out. He's got a big mouth and…the neighbors might talk. (she says, with a wink).

Russell smiles in understanding and picks up his phone.

CUT TO:

Ruth is back in the room. Sara and Russell are talking to her this time. A paper bag is on the table.

RUSSELL  
You said you entered the room after you heard silence?

RUTH  
Yes…that's right.

RUSSELL  
Well, that's a little strange because we have a witness who says you were part of a very non-silent argument_. Before_ silence descended.

RUTH  
Witness? Neighborhood gossips. Know-it-alls. They have nothing to do but make up stories.

RUSSELL  
(Pulling the bag toward himself and slowly removing the contents)  
Except…we have something else that corroborates the know-it-all's story. Places you at the scene…at the time of the crime.

He pulls out a half-eaten sandwich.

RUSSELL  
That's your lipstick on the sandwich we pulled from the garbage out back. Same tuna salad that was in the other sandwiches. I would venture to say that we would find the same DNA, once we run the tests.

RUTH  
Fiona made tuna salad all the time.

RUSSELL  
We have ways of dating things…

RUTH  
I wasn't there.

RUSSELL  
I think you were. And, I think you are part of it all. Don't get me wrong. I feel for all of you. But, most of all, I feel for Fiona Jasper. And that's the only person I'm concerned with right now. Oh, and another strange fact. Coincidentally, you are the only person to benefit from Fiona's death. But I suppose you already knew that.

RUTH  
What are you talking about?

RUSSELL  
Her will. She changed it recently. She left her life insurance and the house to you, in the event of her death. She and her husband must have done this around the time he was diagnosed.

Ruth looks stricken.

RUTH  
I need some air.

RUSSELL  
Well, then, why don't I just accompany you? We'll breathe a little and then…I'd like some answers.

END OF ACT THREE

ACT FOUR

FADE IN

.NIGHT

Russell bounds in, while Sara is drinking coffee and making notes in a file. He plops down in a seat across from her.

RUSSELL  
Full confession. We just took her into custody.

SARA  
Really?

RUSSELL  
Yes. She came back and told us what happened. They were all quietly having dinner…Fiona wasn't feeling well, so she made sandwiches instead of a full meal. He got angry and threw the plate at the wall but a large chunk flew off and hit her in the face.

CUT TO:

AND JOSEPH'S DINING

FLASHBACK of the night of the murder.

FIONA  
(Holding her hand against her bleeding cheek)  
That's it. I just can't take anymore. He's going to the home.

RUTH  
(Trying to appease her)  
Come on, honey. It's fine. You know he can't help himself. You can do this. 'For better, for worse.'

FIONA  
(not believing her ears)  
You? Are lecturing me on better and worse? You've been single your whole life. What do you know about it? He's been yelling and throwing things and swatting me with that stupid cane. He doesn't do that stuff to you. (Fiona pulls off her wedding band and throws it across the room, out of camera range). There. No better, no worse. Just out. I want out.

She sits down and starts to weep.

Ruth goes over and picks up the ring. She is starting to feel desperate.

RUTH  
You can't. You know you can't. He'll go to some asylum run by the state. You know the insurance won't cover anything. He's…you can't.

FIONA  
Then you sit home all day and take care of him.

RUTH  
(Extending ring)  
He's your husband. Here…

FIONA  
(Ignores her)  
Choke on it.

RUTH  
(Snaps)  
No…you choke on it.

She grabs Fiona by the neck and forces the ring down her throat.

Fiona starts to choke while Ruth stands by and watches.

END OF FLASHBACK

CUT TO:

PRESENT TIME

.NIGHT

SARA  
But, someone did the Heimlich maneuver.

RUSSELL  
Well, yes, because Ruth realized her prints were all over that ring and she needed to clear the evidence. According to Doris, the neighbor, Ruth was a big crime show junkie.

SARA  
(not thoroughly convinced)  
Ah…

RUSSELL  
Not sitting well with you?

SARA  
Something isn't adding up.

FADE TO:

VISITING

Sara is talking to a orange jump-suited Ruth. She is not in chains and they are alone, except for a guard just outside the door.

SARA  
I saw your brother this morning.

RUTH  
Where? You have no right to see him.

SARA  
He's a ward of the state now.

Ruth winces.

SARA  
He has…a small bruise on his throat. No one really paid much attention to it. Or even to him. We just confirmed that he was ill and that was about it. That's where the ring hit him, right?

Ruth doesn't say anything. Sara leans forward and looks straight at her.

SARA  
You can't do this. That story you told is not what happened.

RUTH  
(Resigned)  
My brother is well taken care of now. That's all that matters.

SARA  
It's not. You have a life to live.

RUTH  
So did Fiona. She gave up her life for her husband. (beat) Do you have siblings?

SARA  
I had a foster brother … I don't know where he is now. We lost track of each other. So, no. I guess I don't.

RUTH  
Well, Joey was a good kid. Very good. Always protecting his little sister. God, I was a mess when I was a kid. Chubby. Clumsy. Always being picked on. And Joey would always defend me. Always make things right, you know? It's funny. You fight like hell between yourselves but if anyone else gets in the way…

And he grew up to be such a gentleman. Fiona … they were so happy together. For so long. And then…this. This thing that eats away at people's brains. I see this body. The body of my brother. But it's just a body. And I know, he just has to be in there, somewhere. But…it's not him. Not really. He's…he doesn't know us. He acts strangely. He does strange things.

SARA  
He needs full-time help. He may be in a different institution but he will not serve jail time. You know that. And the state run facility is not …it's not some horror show. It's a regular mental institution. Just like they all are.

RUTH  
I can't.

SARA  
You can't protect him forever.

RUTH  
It's our job to protect those who can't protect themselves. Isn't it?

CUT TO

FLASHBACK

A little girl with big brown eyes is staring silently at her father, a handsome young man, while he's tending to a gash on her arm. He dabs some disinfectant on it.

The child winces and is clearly about to cry.

ROBERT SIDLE  
Sara…you know she didn't mean it.

YOUNG SARA  
Yes, she did. She told me she hated me. And then she shoved me right into the counter. She hates you, too, Daddy. She hates everyone.

ROBERT  
Baby, you know she's sick. She can't help herself. We just…have to be patient when she's like this.

Sara looks at him. This man she loves and trusts. The man who would never hurt her.

She would be patient with her mother. For her father's sake.

Always.

END OF FLASHBACK

CUT TO:

PRESENT TIME

INTERROGATION

SARA  
You can't protect him at the cost of yourself, Ruth. That's just…it's not what life is all about. (beat) Tell me what happened.

CUT TO:

DINING

Joseph takes a bite of the sandwich Fiona puts in front of him. He chews for a while, slows down and thinks about something and then angrily slams his hand on the table.

JOSEPH  
Turkey! I hate turkey.

FIONA  
It's not turkey. It's tuna. And you love tuna.

JOSEPH  
I hate turkey.

He takes the plate and hurls it at the wall. It breaks and there is a CLOSE UP as a large shard hits Fiona in the cheek. She cries out in pain and fright. Ruth makes a startled noise, from her seat across the table from Joseph.

FIONA  
I can't, I can't.

Ruth gets up and takes a look at her. At this point, Joseph is just standing back and looking at both of them.

RUTH  
(pushing Fiona's hair away from her bloody cheek)  
You can, sweetheart. You don't want him to go to the home. He's your husband.

FIONA  
I don't want to be married anymore. I'm tired. I don't want to be married.

She takes off her ring and hurls it across the room where it hits Joseph right in the throat. He looks startled. He picks up the ring and, after staring at it for a while, he puts it against his mouth.

Ruth still tries to soothe Fiona. CLOSE UP on the two women, which is disturbed when Joseph comes up to both of them and puts his hand on Fiona's throat.

JOSEPH  
You eat it!

And he shoves the ring into her mouth. She automatically swallows and starts to choke.

And he walks out of the shot.

RUTH  
I don't know how to do the Heimlich!

Fiona, apparently, does. She tries to throw herself across the back of a dining chair and Ruth slaps her back to dislodge the ring. But, within seconds, it's too late.

CUT TO:

PRESENT TIME

INTERROGATION

SARA  
So, after she was dead, you realized you had to get the ring out to get rid of the prints?

RUTH  
(sheepishly)  
I watch a lot of tv. I figured you guys would know what choked her so I didn't replace it with something else but, if I just stuck to my guns, kept my mouth shut and all the prints were removed from the ring, no one could ever prove anything. If Fiona had just a few more seconds, that ring would have come up completely. I didn't have much trouble getting it out of her mouth but it was hard getting it back down.

(She shudders, violently)

Fiona…she _wanted_ me to carry on. That's why she left me the money. The house.

And, I've failed her. I've failed them both.

SARA  
(takes Ruth's hands in her own)  
Sometimes, things are beyond our control. They just are. You all loved each other very much. And, sometimes, you just have to know when to let go. Because…sometimes…that's the only thing you can do. And the only thing that is right for all of you. Live your life, Ruth. Do it for Fiona and for your brother. Because, I have a feeling, that's exactly what they would want for you.

Ruth tears up and quietly nods her head.

FADE TO:

AND GRISSOM'S THAT NIGHT

We are in the middle of an IM session again. Sara has just sit down at the computer again, which had been in the middle of a session. Again, when it's her turn in the conversation, we should hear the sounds of typing.

Sara: Sorry. I'm back. It was just the lab calling about a report I forgot to put on Russell's desk. What was it you wanted to tell me?

A beat. Then…

Gil: We got the grant.

We hear a soft sound of surprise from Sara.

Sara: Wow. I mean, that was something I thought was dead in the water.

Gil: It was. But, I think there's more of an interest in Colony Collapse Disorder now so I resubmitted, tweaking things here and there and…received the notification today.

Sara: Congratulations.

Gil: You, too. It was your work, too. So….

Sara: So?

Gil: I was thinking. We can do this work anywhere. Your level of effort can be reduced so you can still work at the lab. And, I can work on it full time. If…you're interested. If not, I can just inform them that you won't be available as co-PI.

Sara: Oh. Um…I don't know.

Gil: I could get an apartment in town. You don't have to worry about that.

Sara: I'm not worried. Don't be ridiculous. This is your house, too.

You hear her sigh.

Sara: Come home, Gil.(typing slowly) Let's do this.

Gil: Yeah?

Sara: Yeah.

A beat. Two.

Sara: Gil?

Gil: Sorry. I was just hitting the purchase button on the other screen. I booked my flight. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon.

PAN UP to Sara's face as she slowly smiles.

DISSOLVE TO:

AND GRISSOM'S HOUSE. STILL LATER THAT EVENING

Sara is finally turning away from the computer. She stands, then stops, and lifts up the bottom of her blouse a few inches. A gate latch key ring is fastened around one of the belt loops of her jeans. She undoes it and opens the tiny velvet bag that was attached to the key ring. She opens the bag, removes the contents and slips it on the third finger of her left hand.

Wedding ring back in place, she gives a sigh of relief, then moves about the apartment, preparing for the return of her husband.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT FOUR

THE END


End file.
